Research into cinematography - Miss Miller

Cinematograpy is all about the camera angles, movements and positions. They show a characters situations and positions within the film and within the other characters. My chosen clip is from Scream 2 it called 'it's show time' it has lots of points to write about which could help with my opening sequence I am going to be making.

The first cinematography element I saw was a zoom in, it was used on Sidney whilst she is on the phone to the antagonist. Zooming in is a movement of the camera which approaches the object or character. In this case it zooms in from a mid shot of the character to her to face emphasise Sidney's facial expressions whilst she is in conversation, it shows her fear and anger towards the antagonist. she looks afraid, her eyes are wide and she is shaking. Being able to see her emotions allows the audience to feel sympathy for her and relate to how she is feeling. The audience can see that she is being focused on as the victim of the antagonist because of the zooming in movement whilst she on the phone to him it shows that he is targeting her, making the audience worry for character.

    The next cinematography asset I saw was a shallow focus this usually includes two character or subjects in the shot and one is blurred out whilst the other is sharp. This is used when Sidney turns around to talk to the man waiting for her outside, she stays in focus but he is slightly faded as she speaks to him and he turns away. This shows the importance of Sidney and that the other person is possibly in danger but less than she could be, it could foreshadow death of both the characters creating suspense as he is blurred out showing distance and she is in focus showing her vulnerability. The audience can understand the characters purpose in shot and they can relate to what is possibly going to happen, they automatically feel fear for the characters.

      Another position used was a two shot which is when there are two characters in the shot together. My example of this is when Sidney and her friend run into each other when she is trying to escape from the antagonist. Having both characters in the frame at the same time shows the audience the relationships between the them and how they are reacting to each other. it shows him comforting her and protecting her from the killer. This lets the audience relate to characters emotions through their facial expressions and body language towards each other. It allows them feel the connection between both characters, and it shows a convention for the thriller genre because the always a victim with someone who wants to protect them which is shown in this shot.

     The last cinematography element is a high angle, a high angle is when the camera is positioned above the character, to look down on them. The low angle takes place when the two men are on the floor, it is effective because one of the men is injured so it emphasises that he is weak and in danger. This angle is used to show weakness or instability of a character which is shown through the man being sat on the floor and being looked down on. The audience relate to this because it is conventional of a thriller to have a victim and it shows his pain and instability allowing them to understand the position of the characters in the film. They can tell that is in danger and he is not at his full strength.

My research in cinematography has helped my decide on what angles, movements and positioned I am going to use in film, it has helped me understand how they work with audience and how they portray the characters. I am going to be using high angle to show the weakness of the victims in my film and I am going to use zooming in to focus on import parts of the film because I think these two are the most reflective of the characters and the foreshadowing of the rest of the film. The researched has helped me to see what is the most effective and what creates the shock, surprise and suspense needed to make a thriller film create the right emotions in order for the audience to relate and carry on watching.